Major Elliott Garrett (born August 24, 1962) is an American journalist who is chief Washington correspondent for CBS News. Garrett is the host of ''The Takeout'' podcast and was a correspondent for '' National Journal''. Prior to joining ''National Journal'', he was the senior

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

correspondent for

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. He covered the 2004 presidential election, the War on Terror, and the 2008 presidential election, and he is also a fill-in and substitute anchor for '' CBS Evening News'', and ''

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''.

Early life and education

Garrett was born and raised in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, where he attended James Madison High School. He graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

with a Bachelor of Journalism and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1984. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta.

Career

In the 1990s, Garrett was a senior editor and congressional correspondent for '' U.S. News & World Report'' and a congressional reporter for '' The Washington Times'' before joining CNN's White House team in early 2000 and

in 2002 as a general assignment reporter. There, he covered the 2004 election and served as the network's congressional correspondent. He has also been a White House correspondent for CNN and an award-winning reporter across the country for the '' Houston Post'', the '' Las Vegas Review-Journal'', and the '' Amarillo Globe-News''. His articles have appeared in such magazines as '' The Weekly Standard'', '' Washington Monthly'', and '' Mother Jones''. Garrett covered then United States Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. On January 13, 2009, Garrett became the senior White House correspondent for the Fox News Channel. Garrett left Fox News on September 3, 2010, to join '' National Journal''. His final day on Fox News was on '' America Live with Megyn Kelly''. At that time he was also a frequent guest commentator on

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

and on CBS's ''

''. It was announced on ''Face the Nation'' on November 18, 2012, that Garrett would be joining CBS News as Chief White House Correspondent. He was named CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent in December 2018. Garrett hosted ''The Takeout,'' a weekly podcast about politics, public policy, and pop culture. The series ended in 2025 after eight seasons; in May 2025, CBS announced that ''The Takeout'' would be revived as a weekday talk show on CBS News 24/7 beginning May 27.

Controversies

In July 2015, Garrett made headlines when he asked Obama during a press conference why he was "content" with the Iran Nuclear Deal that left four Americans— Amir Mirza Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, Saeed Abedini, and Robert Levinson—trapped in Iran. The President admonished Garrett by saying, "I’ve got to give you credit, Major, for how you craft those questions. The notion that I am 'content' as I celebrate with American citizens languishing in Iranian jails, Major, that's nonsense, and you should know better. Now, if the question is why we did not tie the negotiations to their release, think about the logic that creates. Suddenly, Iran realizes, 'You know what? Maybe we can get additional concessions out of the Americans by holding these individuals. While other Americans held by Iran were eventually released, Levinson died while in Iranian custody.

Personal life

Garrett is married to Lara Brown and lives in Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

* ''Common Cents'' (Little, Brown, 1995, ) * ''The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics'' (St. Martin's Griffin, 2000, ) * ''The Enduring Revolution: How the Contract with America Continues to Shape the Nation'' ( Crown Forum, 2005, ) * ''The Enduring Revolution: The Inside Story of the Republican Ascendancy and Why It Will Continue'' ( Three Rivers Press, 2006, ) *''Mr. Trump's Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams, and Occasional Blackouts of an Extraordinary Presidency'' ( St. Martin's Press, 2018, ) * ''The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of "The Big Lie"'' (with David Becker) (Diversion Books, 2022, )

References

External links

*
Major Garrett
at CBS News * at Fox News * ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Major 1962 births Living people Journalists from San Diego American male non-fiction writers CBS News people Fox News people CNN people The Washington Times people Missouri School of Journalism alumni